Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane takes cultural tour of Kathmandu

KATHMANDU: After arriving in Nepal on a three-day trip, Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane visited cultural sites in the Kathmandu Valley.

General Naravane, who arrived in Kathmandu on Wednesday at the invitation of his Nepali counterpart General Purna Chandra Thapa, is the highest Indian official to visit the Himalayan nation after bilateral ties between the two neighbours reached an all time low due to a boundary dispute.

After landing in Kathmandu, General Naravane and his delegation visited the Basantapur Durbar square area, known for its classic architecture, to worship the Goddess Kumari or the living goddess.


He also donned the traditional Nepali cap, known as the 'Dhaka Topi'.

The delegation also visited the Pashupatinath temple, a revered Hindu shrine.

On Thursday, Naravane will receive the honorary rank of general of Nepal Army on Thursday, which will be conferred to him by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari during a function in the President's Office, according to the Nepal Army.

Nepal and India have a historic tradition of conferring the honorary title to each other's army chief since 1950.

He will be the 18th Indian Army Chief to be conferred with the title.

Also on Thursday, the two army chiefs will hold delegation level talks where they will exchange views on various bilateral, military and security issues.

On Friday morning, General Naravane will visit the Shivapuri Staff College of the Nepal Army.

He will meet Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Friday before wrapping up his visit.